Dickinson State University's third annual Theodore Roosevelt Symposium is scheduled for Oct. 9-11 at Dickinson State University and Medora.

This year's symposium is titled "Theodore Roosevelt: The Conservationist in the Arena" and focuses on the 26th president's commitment to conservation.

The three-day symposium brings together nationally recognized authors and historians to discuss Roosevelt's life and work in the American West, his reading in conservation literature, and the friendships he forged that influenced his conservation ethic and legislative program.

The symposium also includes a DSU theater production featuring scenes from "Old Four Eyes," a play by Thomas M. Patterson that was first presented at the Burning Hills Amphitheatre, Medora, in 1958. The symposium culminates in a field trip to Medora and the Theodore Roosevelt National Park on Oct. 11.

Guest scholars include keynote presenter Douglas Brinkley, author and Distinguished Professor of History at Rice University, Houston; Dan Flores, A.B. Hammond Professor of Western History at the University of Montana-Missoula; Robert Morgan, Kappa Alpha Professor of English at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.; and Donald Worster, who holds the Hall Distinguished Professorship Chair in American History at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kan.

Clay Jenkinson, director of the DSU Theodore Roosevelt Center Project, will serve as symposium moderator and will appear as Roosevelt before Brinkley's keynote address on Oct. 9.

The DSU faculty will be represented by Gary Cummisk, professor of geology and anthropology.

TRNP Superintendent Valerie Naylor will be a special guest at the symposium and will participate in a panel discussion on conservation during the field trip to Medora.

Brinkley's keynote address at 7 p.m. Oct. 9 is open to the public and free of charge. The remaining two days cost $180 for all events.

Those interested also may register for individual days at a cost of $95 per day. Cost includes all lectures, scheduled meals and transportation to Medora.

For more information or to register, call the DSU Office of Extended Learning at 701-483-2166 or toll-free at 866-496-8797. To learn more or to register online, visit www.theodorerooseveltcenter.com/Symposia_2008.asp.